IPE Awards: Swedish Fund Selection Agency wins European pension fund gong
Diego Valero takes this year’s Outstanding Industry Contribution award
IPE Conference 2025: Europe, private markets and realism in ESG - key takeaways
The conference, held in Seville, highlighted sustainable investing pitfalls, private markets, and the case for European asset allocations
Alecta loses in arbitration over loss-making Heimstaden Bostad holding
Swedish pensions giant’s CEO Peder Hasslev: ‘Good we now have more clarity’
EU unveils financial markets integration package
Commission hopes reforms will break down cross-border silos and boost capital-market scale
CDC rollout risks faltering without clearer government roadmap
Collective Defined Contribution pension funds could be a ‘game-changer’, but only if people understand it, consultants say
Dow unifies German pension plans with new auto-enrolment set up
New employees joining any German Dow site from this year are automatically enrolled on the Dow Pension Plan
Stagecoach transfers £1.2bn pension fund to Aberdeen
Aberdeen will receive a minority share of any surplus generated
People moves: Former SAMCo deputy CIO joins AustralianSuper
Plus: Railpen has appointed a new director of member experience
German companies pressed to fast-track Pensionsfonds transfers before tax cuts
Mercer urges German companies to fast-track any planned expansion of direct pension promises or benefit upgrades
Austrian VBV surpasses €10bn with IBM pensions deal
VBV has absorbed more than €1bn in assets and around 30,000 members from Austrian company pension funds over the past two decades
People’s Pension adds to equity manager roster with £3.6bn EM mandate
Appointing Robeco represents a shift from a passive approach to an active quantitative strategy for UK pension fund’s emerging markets portfolio
UK’s Church Commissioners ‘sharpens’ criteria for defence investments
The new approach will make it ‘harder to invest in companies linked to oppressive regimes’, says Church Commissioners for England
Four major investor groups join good governance campaign
The campaign will focus engagement on the Draft Audit Reform and Corporate Governance Bill
German dentists’ fund faces major losses amid probe into past mismanagement
Pension fund VZB is trying to avoid pension cuts
Sweden’s FI launches probe into costly individual occupational pensions
Financial watchdog delivers government-mandated mapping report of pensions and investment costs
EU plans guidance, investment plans and financial instruments to tackle climate resilience
Introduction of national adaptation plans that unlock ‘the full potential of private-sector funding’ have been put forward
Trustees urged to upskill as pension funds embrace private markets
‘Private market allocations have nearly tripled across UK pension schemes since 2019’, says Pensions Management Institute guide
UK regulator launches consultation on ESG rating rules
FCA’s proposed regime includes minimum public transparency requirements and top-up disclosures for direct users
Pension providers warned to modernise as young savers migrate to markets, digital platforms
Young savers are turning to markets and digital tools, pushing pension funds to engage effectively
CF Fertilisers UK completes £265m buy-in for two pension funds with M&G
Transaction provides pension solutions to over 1,350 retirees and deferred members
EU, UK asset managers plan return to client-funded research budgets
Survey shows that vast majority of asset managers believe funding models based on commission-sharing arrangements will be in asset owners’ interests
Swiss pension funds recalibrate US Treasuries exposure
The Swiss bond market is too small to meet the demand for bonds from Swiss pension funds, says PPCmetrics
Non-sustainability funds expected to dominate EU market after SFDR overhaul
Morningstar suggests SFDR overhaul will sharply reduce sustainability-labelled funds, with Article 6 products set to dominate the EU market
‘Reserve power’ debate set to continue in Pension Schemes Bill report stage
The government confirmed that the report stage for the Pension Schemes Bill will begin on 3 December
UK to allow defined benefit surplus to be paid directly to members
Plans to reduce tax charge on surplus paid directly to members will make it easier for members to benefit and for trustees and employers to agree on surplus extraction
Local authority forum calls for BP to show ‘genuine’ capital spending discipline
UK-based Local Authority Pension Fund Forum urges oil giant to justify increased exploration and capex amid warnings its future projects are increasingly uncompetitive
People moves: Denmark’s Velliv names chief financial officer
Plus: Schroders appoints investment head; Investment Association chief to step down next summer
Gilt market reaction to UK Budget remains subdued despite OBR leak
Gilt market reaction to the UK Budget was ‘subdued’
British Coal staff handed back £2.3bn pension pot in UK Budget
This latest decision by the chancellor will see £1.97bn transferred to BCSSS this year
Commerzbank reshapes asset management in bid to drive further growth
The reorganisation involved the establishment of Commerz Real Capital as a new distribution company
What do the SFDR proposals mean for pension funds?
There is uncertainty about what pension funds will be allowed to say externally about sustainability-related investment strategies
Italian pension funds reassess market risks while redrafting strategies
Italian Casse rethink allocations, expand private markets and deepen domestic exposure despite mounting macro risks and constraints
AstraZeneca favours buyouts to offload German DB liabilities
Pharmaceutical group rules out consolidating its German pension plans due to impracticalities
Frjálsi, Farmers’ Pension Fund emerge as latest Icelandic pensions fusion
Frjálsi Pension Fund set to boost its AUM to ISK622bn after signing letter of intent to merge with LSB
Zurich’s PKZH cuts bonds and doubles down on growth assets
Pension fund tightens investment strategy in response to weaker long-term bond return expectations in Switzerland’s entrenched low interest-rate environment
FTN doubles fee as tender work proves more laborious than expected
Sweden’s Fund Selection Agency to hike its tender fee from next year, while cutting annual monitoring fee for older funds
COP30: Final text limp on fossil fuels, own initiative processes announced
The Belém Package comprises 29 decisions approved by consensus of 195 countries, but not on the fate of fossil fuels
People’s Pension overhauls pre-retirement strategy, cutting cash, sovereign debt
UK pensions provider revamps its pre-retirement strategy, cutting cash and sovereign debt in favour of global short-dated credit
Klaus Stiefermann elected chair of PensionsEurope
Stiefermann succeeds Jacques van Dijken, who had to step down because of the Dutch pension federation leaving PensionsEurope
XPS Group downgrades asset managers over weak climate pledges
Consultancy said asset managers should have clear firm-level targets to manage climate change “as a systemic issue”
Swiss pension funds weigh FX hedging as risk appetite rises
Rising equity allocations and a softer dollar are forcing Swiss pension funds to rethink how tightly they hedge FX
Coal: New reports explore retirement pipeline, flexible operation
Investors could consider investing in repurposing coal plants for flexibility, but only if robust guardrails are in place, says Coal Transition Commission
BVV to widen reach in growing German DC markets
‘Focus will be on the digitalisation of our services, the development of modular solutions, and continuous dialogue with social partners and clients, says BVV chair
UKSIF warns climate risk, net-zero are missing from UK pension review
UKSIF chief James Alexander urges the UK Pensions Commission to put climate risk and net zero transition at the centre of its review of the UK pensions system
European Commission publishes official plans for updated SFDR
Transition and impact categories in, adverse impact and taxonomy reporting loosened as regime set to move to a labelling framework
IORP II review: Commission wants pension funds to explain underperformance
The Commission’s supplementary pensions reform package also includes an auto-enrolment recommendation and measures to make the Pan-European Pension Product (PEPP) more attractive
British Business Bank to launch venture capital initiative for pension funds
Bank also confirms Aegon, NatWest Cushon and M&G as investors in first fund launched by the British Growth Partnership
BBC Pension Scheme completes £6bn longevity swap
The longevity swap covers pensioner liabilities representing around 21,000 members
People moves: Jupiter appoints former Santander CEO as chair
Plus: bfinance expands to North America with new head; L&G bolsters leadership team
Frjálsi to merge with LTFÍ after unanimous member vote
In latest Icelandic pension fund merger to be approved by scheme members, fifth-largest provider Frjálsi to add 2% to total assets
